Roasted Zucchini Pizza (with Homemade Sauce)

{First off, did you read about my first giveaway? Go check it out! It’s open until this Friday!}

Now on with the matter at hand…

I have zucchini growing out of my ears.

Well, not literally. But seriously, there is mega-zucchini goings-on here in the Crazy for Crust household.

In the last two weeks I have made chocolate zucchini muffins, zucchini pizza, zucchini bars, and stuffed zucchini (recipes forthcoming). I have used zucchini in my Summer Salad (twice). I have stir-fried zucchini and put it in cous cous and turkey burgers.

And I still have five good sized zucchinis in my crisper drawer. Five.

This week I will do one or all of the following: (a) give some zucchini away, (b) make zucchini oatmeal cookies, and/or (c) dream about a monster, life-sized Santoku knife-weidling zucchini chasing me through the streets of San Francisco.

Needless to say, this is the first of several zucchini recipes I will be sharing with you.

This one comes in the form of a pizza. And, stop right there, don’t leave. If you just were about to click the little red “x” because “Ewww!!! Zucchini doesn’t belong on pizza!!!” stick with me for a minute. It’s really good. And what was even better? The sauce.

I’ve never made my own pizza sauce before. {Gasp.} I’ve always used Contadina or Target brand or whatever was on sale. But never again people. Never again. Now that I know how easy it is to make my own pizza sauce, I’m doing it always.

Usually, my favorite thing about pizza is the crust. (Really, I’m sure you had no idea.) But this pizza? The sauce was the star. Even my daughter loved it. (And this from a girl who usually makes her place at the table look like a murder scene with all the pizza-sauce wiped napkins she uses because she “doesn’t like sauce.”) There was not one red sauce-smeared napkin to be seen anywhere. And that, my friends, is the best endorsement ever.

Make your own pizza sauce. Roast some zucchini and throw it on top with all your favorite toppings. Pizza + Vegetables all in one bite. Perfect!

Enjoy!

(Note: There is a print link embedded in this post. Please visit the post to print.)

For the pizza:Pizza Crust (either homemade or store-bought)Mozzarella Cheese, shredded (as much or as little as you like)1 medium zucchini for each pizza (if you are making more than one)Other toppings you like

Directions:

To make the sauce, add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice zucchini and place on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Spray or drizzle zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. (This can be done ahead of time.)

Stretch out your pizza dough to desired size. Top with sauce, cheese, and roasted zucchini (as well as other toppings you choose). Bake according to your pizza crust directions.

Yield: the sauce makes a lot. I made two pizzas (1-lb of dough each) and froze enough sauce for two more pizzas.